Glad that I don’t have to drag Chris myself, I watch as they pick him up, each with one arm pulled around their shoulders. The only help I offer is to swiftly pop Chris’s limp dick back in his jeans, scrunching my face at the thought of where it’s just been.
“Deal with that shit,” Michael commands, his head bobbing towards the bitch who’s still out cold.
“We’re on it,” Larry replies, placing his drink down on the table before getting up.
When the boys start to move, Chris mumbles but doesn’t awaken. Before they lead Chris down the stairs, I take one last look over my shoulder to find Brandon staring at me. He winks before blowing me a kiss, a vindictive smirk pulling up one side of his mouth. I ignore him, following quickly behind the boys as they exit the noisy club.
“Where’s your car?” Michael asks, feeling grateful that I can hear him now that we’re away from the noise.
“Over there,” I respond, pointing to my Mini.
“You still got that shitty looking car?” Michael breathes out, looking exasperated, and I wonder if it’s my car or having to lug Chris around that causes it. “I thought Chris was going to buy you something nicer.”
We reach the car, and I quickly open the back door so they can lunge Chris in. They waste no time dropping him onto the seat and closing the door. Kane simply nods his head and walks off, and once Michael looks back at me, I answer him.
“I will tell you what I told Chris. What would it look like if a girl who works in an antique shop turns up in a brand new, flashy car? Besides, I like her. She’s unique.”
Michael glances down at said car in disgust and huffs. “Graveyard. That’s the best place for her.”
I throw my hands up in the air and make my way around to the driver’s side. “Hey, as long as she runs, I don’t care. Do you need a lift?”
He flits his eyes away, a moment of uncertainty washing over his face. I’ve seen that look before. He needs a place to stay.
I let out a sigh and speak before he does. “Come on, get in the car. You can sleep in the spare room.”
With masked enthusiasm, Michael opens up the passenger side and helps himself in. Once I get in and start the car, I fix my gaze on him. “Have another fight with Tarryn?”
He shakes his head, rubbing his temple as his right knee bounces. “She’s doing my fucking head in.”
I smile, amused by him. He’s always fighting with his current girlfriend, but miraculously, after a year, they’re still together. I just don’t get it. They’re like chalk and cheese. Michael’s a down-to-earth guy, born and bred in East London, he’s a true Cockney. Tarryn, on the other hand, is like a princess. She only ever wants the finer things in life. And although Michael can provide it most of the time with the money their little team is making, Tarryn can’t come to terms with his East London life, and he equally can’t come to terms with her posh upbringing.
“Why are you still with her?” I ask, before quickly checking on Chris and pulling out from the kerb. He’s still out of it. I’m guessing he’s been like that for a while.
“She’s got the tightest pussy I have ever had.”
Groaning, I raise my hand up. “Okay, a bit too much information there.” I hear him chuckle, so I shake my head. “Men!” I shout, complaining. “Why does everything boil down to sex?”
“All that a man needs in his life is BFS. If they have that, then nothing else matters.”
I crinkle my nose up in confusion as I head down an unusually quiet street. The last street that leads us towards the turning to our penthouse. Finally, I can get to bed. I already feel the weight of the day exhausting me.
“Okay, I give in. What in the hell is BFS?” I quickly gaze over, finding his cheeky grin.
“Beer, football, and sex.” I throw my head back, laughter immediately taking over. “Come on then. What’s so fucking funny?”
“You,” I answer, puffing out some air when he continues to look at me like I’m crazy. “You say all that, but where are you now? Currently helping the girlfriend of a comatose man back to his flat before sleeping in their spare room, because why? You’ve had an argument with your girlfriend, who has yet again thrown you out of your house. Which is all your house, by the way. Remember you asked her to move in with you and not the other way around?”
He runs a hand through his jet black, cropped hair, his dark brown eyes glazed over with alcohol. “I can hardly chuck a girl out onto the street now, can I? What kind of fucking arsehole would that make me? She may be a bitch at times, and we fight, but fuck me when we get together the next day, she’s pulling my dick out quicker than a gunslinger pulling out his pistol at dawn. Believe me, tomorrow morning when I get home will make sleeping in your spare room for a night fucking worth it.”
As I pull into my parking space, I shake my head. I’m about to tell him how shallow he is when I think against it. “You know what? I give up. I just give up. Help me get Chris in?”
“Of course,” Michael replies with a drunk grin before springing into action and opening the door.
It takes a lot longer to get Chris into the flat and into bed than it did when Michael had help from Kane, and it doesn’t help that I’m only five-foot-five and Chris is well over six foot and built like a brick shit house. When he’s not at home, out selling drugs, or getting wasted, he’s at the gym, boxing and practicing Tae-Kwon-Do. He says it helps him to get all that pent-up anger out.
“Thanks for helping me with him,” I say, once we have Chris tucked up in our bed and we leave him to sleep.
I’m in the middle of setting up the spare bed in the other room when I feel Michael’s eyes on me.
“You know he really loves you, right? If he’d been conscious, Chris would never have let that slut do what she did. You’re all he ever talks about. In fact, everyone thinks he’s obsessed.”
My stomach clenches at the obsession part. We are both obsessed. A little too much so.
“I know,” is all I answer. I understand Chris was a victim in this, but he should never have put himself in a position where he was so wasted that anything could have happened to him.
As if sensing my thoughts, Michael says, “We all have his back.”
I chuckle sarcastically under my breath. I place the last pillow down then look up at Michael. “What, like you all did tonight?”
Michael fixes me with his big brown eyes, a look of surrender in them. He doesn’t say anything. He knows he can’t.
I check my watch. It’s already midnight, and I have to be up early tomorrow. “I best get to bed. Some of us have to go to work first thing in the morning.” Michael smiles, and I walk towards the bedroom door. When I’m about to open it, I hear him speak.
“You know you could just sleep in tomorrow and then jack your job in. With what Chris earns, you’ll never have to work again.”
I turn, smiling at him. “Then what purpose would I serve? Sometimes in life it’s not about money. Getting up and going to work every day, meeting people, and keeping my brain active. It all gives me purpose.”
Michael takes in what I say and finally nods. “Goodnight, Bri.”
“Good night, Michael.”